Chapter Two

Keep note, this version of the impossible astronaut will not follow the canon of the episode directly, and a lot of lines will be my own original content.

The Doctor and Rose walked along the dusty Utah roads for a little while, in a comfortable silence, side by side. "So what do you mean by, you're 'supposed' to die then?" Rose finally asked. The question had been plaguing her mind since they began the walk from the diner.

"It's a long story really. And I'm not supposed to tell you, but I can say that you will know. Eventually."

"Right, okay. So this means you're from the future?" Rose asked, a little incredulously.

"Yep." The Doctor stated, matter-of-factly "But not just any future. Our future." He smiled.

"The old team, yeah?" Rose said, turning her head to smile at the new doctor beside her.

"Hope and Glory, Mutt and Jeff, Shiver and Shake." The Doctor joked.

"Which one's Shiver?"

"Oh I'm Shake!"

Then the two of them laughed, and continued along the dusty road, until a couple came into sight. The girl was tall and pale, with fiery red hair a red, dusty checked shirt, and the man was a little shorter, with sandy blonde hair and an unfortunate nose. "Amy! Rory!" The Doctor exclaimed, running towards them, leaving Rose trailing behind. The redhead that she assumed to be Amy smiled and hugged The Doctor tightly, before releasing him and eyeing Rose suspiciously. The Doctor hugged Rory equally as tight, before smiling and saying "My Ponds."

Amy wasn't really paying much attention to The Doctor babbling on about Ponds and Centurions, and instead was staring at Rose. She knew that she had seen that face somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place the blonde in front of her. "Doctor?" she said, pulling The Doctor out of his constant babbling. "Who's your friend?" she asked.

"Right, of course. Introductions!" The Doctor said, returning to Rose's side once more, and clutching her hand tightly. "Amelia Pond, Rory Pond. Meet Rose Tyler, one of my old companions."

"It's Williams," Rory reminded The Doctor, before extending a hand to Rose. "Well, I'm Rory, as I'm sure you would've guessed by now. Nice to meet you."

Rose smiled, and shook his hand, and then Amy approached her. "I'm Amy," she said, shaking Rose's hand, but still remaining rather suspicious. "I'm sorry, but do I know you from somewhere?" she asked.

"I don't think so." Rose said, "But nice to meet you both all the same." Amy was about to press ore questions on this Rose, but was interrupted by The Doctor. "Now we've got the boring bit's out of the way, how about a picnic! Down by a lovely little lake no more than five minutes away."

The Ponds and Rose agreed, and the four headed off together. But Amy couldn't get out of her mind that Rose looked familiar, also she noted that Rose visibly flinched when The Doctor mentioned the lake. And how they still were holding hands.

Who exactly was this girl? He had said she was an old companion, but Amy knew The Doctor well enough to know that he didn't like looking back onto the past, and he felt guilty about the downfalls of many of his companions. So what made this Rose girl so special? She looked human, but Amy knew well enough by now that someone's exterior did not necessarily mean that they were, in fact, human.

It was also the way The Doctor acted with her. He seemed so happy, which was odd considering the sad, broody doctor that they had seen the last time they had met. She wondered how long Rose and The Doctor had been reunited, and if maybe, now that he had found Rose again, he would ditch Amy and Rory for her. Amy hoped that she was being irrational, but there was just a little doubt and a pinch of jealousy that bugged her mind. Although Amy loved Rory, unconditionally, she would be lying if she said that she never had a thing for The Doctor. She didn't know if it was the gawky limbs or the floppy hair or the bowtie, but there was something so attractive about him, that she had practically cheated on Rory with him, after their adventure with the Weeping Angels. But still, he had never shown much interest in her, or anyone mind that. She had eventually come to the conclusion that maybe he was asexual, or only attracted to other Time Lords, like River. But he never looked at River the way he looked at Rose. He had travelled with a lot of other pretty young women, but he had never mentioned a relationship with any of them.

He had never mentioned Rose.

It was the way that they both seemed so comfortable with each other, holding hands, laughing at little private jokes as they recounted one or two of their adventures. The little touches where the doctor would run his fingers over hers as the four of them sat on the picnic blanket by the lake, or the way that Rose would lean into him to get comfy, and he would just, let her. They looked so natural together.

Amy was pulled from her train of thought, as The Doctor pulled out a bottle of wine. It looked old and French and fancy, and it looked gorgeous, Amy loved a glass of wine after a long day but she couldn't dare touch it, not with her suspicions. Rory denied the bottle, having never acquired the taste for wine and neither had The Doctor, apparently, by the way he screwed up his face after taking a swig of the bottle, and promptly spitting it out. Amy and Rory laughed, and Rose rolled her eyes smiling and told him not to be such a child. He offered the wine to Rose, who took a mouthful and then offered it to Amy. Amy shook her head no, receiving some strange looks from Rory and The Doctor. She shrugged, saying she didn't fancy it, and turned her head to look over her shoulder. Suddenly a figure came into view, she couldnt make it out much from the distance, but it was tall and wore a dark suit. It looked like a man, really. "What's that?" she said, quietly.

"What's what?" Rory asked, getting her attention, she turned her head confused. "What?" she asked. What was Rory going on about? "You looked like you saw something."

"I didn't see anything" she said.

"Ok"

Rose looked at Amy oddly, she had definitely been looking at something, but seemed to forget all about it afterwards. She quickly scanned the area, her torchwood defences kicking in, but found no threats. Suddenly, in the distance, a van pulled up. Rose didn't miss the way The Doctor tensed. The four of them stood up, and Amy squinted, apparently seeing a man, next to a van holding what she thought was gasoline.

"Doctor, who's that?" Rory asked.

"It's time." The doctor said, swallowing. "Something's going to happen. And you have to promise me, all of you, that you will not interfere. Not at all."

"Doctor what are you-" Amy began to say, but suddenly something emerged from the clear lake water.

"Is that an astronaut?" Rose asked.

"Promise me. Promise me you won't interfere" The Doctor said, looking them all in the eye.

"Okay. I promise." Amy said. She didn't know what was going to happen here, but she did not like it.

"I promise." Rory seconded, and The Doctor turned to Rose.

"You promise, don't you Rose?"

Rose sniffed. She knew that he had told her that he wouldn't die here, but she still felt uneasy. "Would you do it, for me?" she asked, looking up at him, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"For you Rose, I could do anything." He cupped her face gently. "I'm going to be okay" he whispered into her ear, before releasing her and turning to walk towards the astronaut.

"What is he doing?" Rory whispered.

They watched as The Doctor approached the astronaut, and it raised its visor. They watched him say something to it, and Rose could almost swear that he was crying. Suddenly, the astronaut lifted its arm, and shot a green laser at The Doctor. "NO!" Amy screamed, trying to lunge forwards. Rory quickly grabbed her, and held her back. "He said we can't interfere!" he said. Rose looked at the panicked couple, and tried to restrain herself from running over there and cradling him in her arms herself. "Come on, come on. Regenerate" she said softly. Almost immediately after, the familiar golden swirls of regeneration began to kick in, and Rose breathed out a little, he was going to be fine. Different, but fine. Right?

Wrong. The astronaut struck again, stopping his regeneration, and knocking him to the ground. Dead. With that, it retreated to the water, and Rose ran towards him, jumping to the ground beside him, Amy not far behind. "No" Amy kept repeating, as Rose ran her hands up his chest, trying to feel for that double heartbeat. But alas, she was met with silence. Rory quickly approached the girls and leant down, holding Amy tightly as she cried. "He's dead Rory, look at him." She was saying.

"No! He can't be!" Rose shouted, "He promised me. He promised me he was going to be okay!"

"Rose, he's dead." A voice suddenly said. Rose Amy and Rory stood up, in front of a man.

"He is in fact dead, and he told me to bring you this." He held up his tank of gasoline.

"Who are you?"

"I am Canton Everett Delaware the Third. Amy, Rory and Rose, I won't ever see you again, The Doctor promised me that. But you will be seeing me again. Give my regards to River Song."

And with that Canton Everett Delaware the Third, set down his tank and turned back to his van. Leaving.

"I don't understand…" Rose said.

"Time lord DNA. It's unique," a voice said. Suddenly the three turned around and were faced with a woman. She had blonde curly hair, wore jeans and a denim jacket, with an obvious holster and blaster sitting round her waist and a vortex manipulator on her wrist. "Civilizations would tear each other apart for just a single sell."

"You're right," Rose said "But who exactly are you?"

"Rose Tyler, I never thought I'd see the day where you didn't know my name. River Song, and it has and always will be a pleasure knowing you."